Control
by sakura windz
Summary: Beaten, raped and dehumanized by his own brother, Sasuke is on the edge of reality. Between the illusions, selfinflicted wounds, and practical tantrums, lies the speck of sanity that may help his teammates bring him back to reality. Chapter Six up
1. Darkness of the Unconscious Mind

Control: Chapter One: The Darkness of the Unconscious Mind

Beaten, raped and dehumanized by his own brother, Sasuke is on the edge of reality. Between the illusions, self-inflicted wounds, and practical tantrums, lies the speck of sanity that may help his teammates bring him back to reality.

Though it is most unneeded, I have no ownership to Naruto or the related characters. Masashi Kishimoto does though.

* * *

"Sasuke…"

"Sasuke-kun…!"

A voice so familiar- so, so familiar calls out, pushing through the darkness of his unconscious mind. Though it is familiar, it seems so far away, thus the attempt to break through the barrier of darkness is failed- he does not respond.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I will have to ask you to step into the waiting room with the rest of your friends. We will try to get him in a stable condition."

Vague voices are becoming clearer now. The profound darkness of the unconscious cloud surrounding him gradually dissolves, yet his mind is still lost there, like a little boy, lost in the dark woods at night, his only guide being the moon, stars, and the lighting of the kerosene lantern illuminating his home of worried parents, so, so far away.

The darkness of the unconscious mind… such a dangerous thing it can be, helping one to reflect on the darker, bloodier events of his life rather than the pleasant, indulgent ones spent with his friends, father, mother, and…

His eyelids broke apart abruptly, his Sharingan activated, just by the same thought that woke him. Those memories- the "so-called" pleasant, indulgent ones- seemed as just lies, cold and drenched with sadness and the blood lost from his clan. Those same memories- lies more to say- is what landed him in his current state. Alone, depressed, and as of now, inflicted with bruises. Bruises inflicted by his own brother the previous night.

The darkness of the unconscious mind, dangerous because it makes one reflect on the darker side of life- forcing one to think of _him_ the one who ruined everything about him. Those same reflections of him can pull you right out of the darkness.

* * *

Sorry that it had to be so short. There'll be more detail from here on. 


	2. Breakaway

Control: Chapter Two: Breakaway

Naruto Kishimoto, not some Sasuke crazy fangirl

* * *

The room was painted in a pale peach color with an army green border. Sakura personally thought this was utterly hideous, but she kept quiet about that. Her main concern now was Sasuke. His wounds were put in bandages and he was ordered not to move a muscle. As of then, Sasuke was drugged and asleep. He had been missing for quite awhile until now. Many people thought he ran off in search of power from Orochimaru yet again, but now that can easily be disproved.

He was found, by Kiba and Akamaru that last night, just outside of the village, beaten and unconscious, with only a thin sheet wrapped around him. His ankles and wrists were tied tightly with rope, and he was gagged with a single piece of cloth stuffed nearly all the way down his throat. He had a note pinned to his right hand and he seemed to be repeating something over and over again. Though the rain masked it, there were streams of tears flowing down his face. It rained a lot this time of year in Konoha, being hurricane season.

When he woke up, his Sharingan immediately activated in a feeling of hostility, alertness, and fear. He began to scream his brother's name out as he tried to arise from his hospital bed to find him. His injuries were far too severe for him to just sit up without difficulty. His screams of pain and insanity could have been heard throughout the hospital, thus leading to at least ten nurses trying to keep him down in bed.

Of course since the whole hospital could hear his war with the nurses, this meant that his own teammates- Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi could also hear it. They were able to identify the screaming almost simultaneously. After at least an hour of the repeated fighting, a nurse finally stuck him a tranquilizer needle, calming him down in no longer than 30 seconds.

That same needle is what had Sasuke asleep the next morning, with Sakura at his bedside, nearly to tears, Kakashi standing by the door and Naruto sitting in a corner staring blankly at the window. This silence remained for minutes later until Sasuke began to stir.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura gasped.

Kakashi signaled Sakura back off of him a bit.

Sasuke continued to stir until his eye opened the slightest bit. They fell just beyond Sakura's face

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?"

Naruto slowly began to rise from his corner to greet Sasuke.

"Are you okay? What happened back there anyways?" Naruto put up his casual act.

Sasuke's eyes stayed glued to the space beyond Sakura. They looked dim and fogged. His lips parted slightly.

"Okaa-san...!"

Saying this, Sakura immediately turned around to see who he talking to. No one was there.

"Um… No one's there Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke sat up quickly and saw that no one was there. He frantically jerked his head around taking a look at everyone as if he was some captured wild animal.

"Sasuke-kun, you're alright now." Sakura reached her hand out to touch his shoulder, but he shoved her away as if she was a monster trying to hurt him and backed off into a corner, embracing himself.

"Don't touch me!" Sasuke whined, holding himself tighter. He had bandages wrapped around his head (covering his left eye), waist, right arm and hand, left leg and foot in a cast, and his left arm was in an arm sling. He dropped down with his head in his knees and began to sob, warding off any of them who came near.

His three teammates stood in disbelief watching Sasuke act in such a way. Kakashi called a nurse in to help, but Sasuke just pushed her off as well. When a couple of nurses tried to forcefully put him back to bed or tranquilize him, he violently avoided them and frantically made his way out of the hospital.

* * *

Chapter three is on the way!

BTW: My sister read this first and she told me that she was confused around the beginning, so for the record, paragraph 2-4 states what happened when Sasuke was found. As of Chapter 2, Sasuke was beaten by Itachi 2 days ago, found 1 day ago, and what you just read is "today".

Every second you don't review, God kills a kitten. Please. Think of the kittens.


	3. When a Recap is Needed, a Recap is Here

Control: Chapter Three: Recap

Don't own, never will

For the one or two people actually taking the time to read this, here is a whole chapter dedicated to a recap.

* * *

Note: The day before the following, Itachi did something bad to Sasuke. (rape 0.0)

Kiba and Akamaru found Sasuke just outside of the village beaten up by Itachi after he had been missing for a few days or so. He was beaten, wrapped in a sheet, his ankles and wrists were tied up, and a note was pinned into his hand. (What was on the note is yet to be revealed.) Sasuke was taken to the hospital, where he was in an unstable condition.

In chapter one, his unconsciousness gave him time to think about how evil Itachi is. He thought of the darker events of his life like when Itachi killed the clan. Those thoughts began to make him think of the times when he thought he could trust Itachi. Naturally, it angered him, forcing him to awaken.

According to chapter two (paragraph 3 and 4), as soon as Sasuke woke up, he began screaming his brother's name loud enough for everyone in the hospital to hear. Kakashi, Naruto, and a worried Sakura (who was the one told to go into the waiting room in chapter one) of course heard this because they were in the waiting room.

After hearing him scream to the top of his lungs, almost 10 nurses came in to the rescue to try to keep him from getting up and finding Itachi. Since he was injured, it was hard for him to get up, but he tried anyway, resulting to more screaming in pain.

After an hour came by, a nurse finally tranquillized him and put him to sleep until the next morning.

This is where the beginning of chapter two (paragraph 1, 5-end of chapter) comes in. Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto were sitting silently for a long while until they heard (and saw) Sasuke stirring in bed. Once he woke up, he saw something that was just beyond Sakura (take for example, the edge of your computer screen is Sakura. Whatever is behind it is "just beyond Sakura".) He then calls out for his okaa-san (mother), thinking whatever was behind Sakura was his mother. When Sakura tells him that no one was there, he then takes notice of his teammates and gets a feeling of hostility from them. Sakura then tries to pat him on the shoulder, but that just scares him even more, resulting to him trying to hide in a corner of the hospital room and pushing his teammates away if they had tried to come near. Kakashi then called for a nurse to calm him down, but Sasuke pushed her away too. When two more nurses tried to calm him he violently pushed them away and made and escape from the hospital.

Note: I didn't write about the raping yet.

Note again: The whole "Okaa-san" thing can probably fall under the category of the illusions, better put, hallucinations.

Notes some more: The story begins with Sakura calling Sasuke's name after he was just brought to the hospital. A nurse then told Sakura to go to the waiting room.

The chapters will become longer as of Chapter four, people!

Any questions? Review! God is watching… remember the kittens…


	4. Search

Control: Chapter Four:

I'm assuming you two understand what's going on now? Okay! Let's continue!

Refreshment for your brain: Sasuke had a fit when Sakura attempted to touch him and he totally left the hospital after attacking two nurses.

Note: Like it is here where I live, hurricane season is blasting through Konoha.

* * *

"Follow after him" Kakashi began coolly and calmly "I'll handle this." He began to help the nurses. 

"Aa."

"Okay."

The two left Kakashi to do his deed.

Sakura and Naruto ran until their speed was at its limit to find Sasuke. He had already been through the hospital and out the door into the cold evening rain of the hurricane expected to come through in a few days. The two were outside in no less than two minutes.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted to the top of his lungs. He received no reply.

"Sasuke-kun! There's nothing to be afraid of! We're not here to hurt you!" Sakura said in the sweetest voice she could bring up. She sounded as if she knew exactly what she was doing, but the truth was she was in total disbelief the whole time. She didn't know why Sasuke was acting like this. It was completely out of character for him to act like that. He was always cool, cold, dark, and mainly collected. Now that she thought about it, a few days before he wound up missing, he had been acting a little strange. He seemed… definitely more drawn than usual and he'd taken a few sick days. Something was definitely on his mind then. Sakura heard while she was still waiting for Sasuke to awaken in the hospital that the note pinned to his hand stated that Itachi "borrowed him for awhile". Since the only trace of fabric on him was that sheet, and since he was tied and gagged, most from the village who gave a rat's ass about it thought that he was raped. Others who hated Sasuke with a passion insisted on Sasuke staging the whole thing just to seem innocent when his true intent was to get power from Orochimaru. When Sasuke was just brought to the hospital Sakura took notice of where his wounds were located. His arms, legs, face, and waist were covered in bruises, scratches, and marks. The more Sakura thought about it, the more she could tell he was in fact raped. She could also believe that Itachi did it. But _why_ was her only other question. Perhaps to anger Sasuke more so he can have the urge to become stronger so he can one day kill Itachi?

What worried Sakura the most was not the whole rape issue. It was what she just witnessed. Why did Sasuke call out for his mother back there? Was he looking at her when he said that? Was he hallucinating? These many thoughts jumbled in her head as she and Naruto continued on their way to find there teammate.

The rain pelted down on Naruto and Sakura's heads. They left in such a hurry, they forgot their belongings, including their umbrellas.

After running and searching for minutes later, the rain began to beat harder and harder, making it harder for Naruto and Sakura to see, even with the seemingly unneeded streetlights, the village just looked like a cloud of fog.

"God dammit…" Naruto sighed, loud enough for Sakura to hear. "We're not gonna find him very easily in this rain. I can barely see the ground in front of me."

"Naruto, we have to keep looking for him. Something's not right about him and if we just let him wander around by himself, he could get into a lot of trouble!"

Naruto paused and looked at her a moment, and sighed again.

"Fine. But don't look at me if we catch a cold out here."

(edit: omg change the fricking scene i can't belive this)

Sasuke had run for a long time now. The rain had him soaking wet and he was beginning to feel feverish. He ran past many houses and stores until he reached a dark alley. He hid back there.

For awhile, he didn't realize that he was injured, now the pain was beginning to shoot up and down his body, causing him to cry out. His bandages were getting damaged and were peeling off because of the rain and he was now bleeding in several places. Sasuke felt lightheaded and his body was getting heavy. With his free arm (his other was in an arm sling), he embraced himself to keep warm a little. Though it just happened, the memory of the hospital was already beginning to fade. All he could remember of it was seeing his mother. Though it was an illusion, he thought it was real. She smiled at him with her arms out ready for one of those hugs she used to give him when he was little. He could hear her calling his name out, so he called back, only to see her disappear by the sound of Sakura's voice.

The wind began to pick up some and it was only getting colder. Sasuke looked into the sky as if he was trying to find something there for awhile. He soon gave in and curled up against the side of a building, still trying to keep warm and maybe sleep for that night, though he just woke up. It was clear that he had either not thought of his own home or he had forgotten it existed.

For at least ten minutes he attempted to sleep in the windy rain and darkness of the alley, but no such luck came to him. The memory of what Itachi did to him haunted him over and over again. Itachi had him away from home for about two weeks. Each day, Itachi would beat him, rape him, or make him do something that only a wild animal would do. Each day he would cry for someone to get him out of that hell his brother placed hi in, or he would try to run away, only to be beaten more.

When Itachi raped him that last time, it seemed more painful that all the other hundreds of times he did it in those past two weeks. Maybe it was because Sasuke put of more of a fight then. Or maybe it finally occurred to him who exactly was doing all of this to him. The one who he had always admired- the same one who always trained him to become stronger- the one who made him feel better if he didn't believe in his skills- that one who nursed him back to health if he got sick or injured- his own blood… That was _his_ own big brother who caused him so much pain.

Too involved in his own thoughts, Sasuke didn't realize that he had been sobbing. His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier and his emotions more mixed and damaged.

(scene change)

"Sasuke-teme!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison, looking in almost every nook and cranny of the village. It was still indeed windy and the rain had done nothing but hardened. It had almost been an hour since they started looking and not the first sign of Sasuke came to them. Naruto checked his watch which stopped at 9:30pm. Unfortunately, his watch wasn't very waterproof.

"For the love of God…" Naruto said while trying to get his watch to start up again.

"Is it broken?"

"Like hell it is."

Sakura looked at Naruto as if he was a different person. That's what he had been acting like for the past few days. Or more like ever since Sasuke disappeared. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto was a lighthearted, prankster kind of guy with a big heart and he could put sense into someone if they needed it. But now he was almost a little like Sasuke- cold and distant- like someone had ripped away a part of his heart.

Sakura knew very well that her team was falling apart once again, the first time being when Sasuke tried to run away to Orochimaru about a year ago. He was retrieved, but even then he just didn't seem the same. Neither did Naruto or Kakashi. Thinking of this only made Sakura more and more eager to find Sasuke so she could patch things up and maybe, just maybe they could be the way they were in the old times. A team- a _real_ team.

Naruto and Sakura were just now getting to the "neglected" parts of the village (where the old buildings, ghettos, and such were). It looked especially dark and gloomy there. Added with the wind, rain, and now thunder and lightning- this place seemed very unfriendly to Sakura. Though the rain was especially loud- so loud she could hardly hear herself speak- she could hear the cats behind the alleys and the homeless children crying in fear of the harsh weather.

The two turned down a street filled with old stores that hadn't been opened in years, inns, and restaurants. Sakura mentally noted that she never wanted to go to that side of the village again. As they were passing an alley, Naruto thought he heard a cat whimpering agonizingly. He pulled a kunai from his pouch.

"Damned cat." Once we threw it, it made a dull land as if it landed in flesh. A sharp cry of pain that sounded mildly human soon came after that.

"Oh, my God, Naruto, what'd you hit?"

They both quickly came behind the alley to see what Naruto had hit. Though it was plenty dark, Naruto could faintly see that he did hit a human on the leg. The flickering streetlight at the far end of the alley finally lit up permanently, revealing that he in fact hit Sasuke.

* * *

How'd you like that for length? Did you two understand it? 

Review… for the kittens… meow.


	5. Kisses and Punches

Control: Chapter Five: Kisses and Punches

(insert useless disclaimer here)

Refreshment for your brain: Naruto and Sakura were looking for Sasuke after he escaped the hospital and Naruto threw a kunai at his leg thinking Sasuke was a cat.

Small notice: If you've ever wondered why I rated this story the way I did, you'll find out right about now. ;D

* * *

Remarkably, Sasuke didn't wake up, even with the kunai deep into his left leg. Naruto pulled it out, feeling a little sheepish while Sakura was gasping and trying not to cry. Naruto kneeled down to Sasuke and genteelly shook him to wake him up, but it was a failed attempt. 

"Is he dead?" Sakura tried not to ask that question for awhile now, but it just slipped from her lips.

"He's asleep." Naruto sighed in relief. "Why he's out here, I don't know, but we should take him to his house. He feels like he's running a mild fever."

"Oh, thank God." Sakura could have fainted, she was so relieved.

Naruto then lifted the Uchiha onto his back without difficulty and headed off to his house in a hurry. It took Sakura a bit to realize she had been left, then she quickly took after Naruto.

(scene change)

The door to Sasuke's house wasn't locked. No one locked their doors in Konoha. Though there were ninja and such, Konoha was too much of a peaceful place, so no one felt the doors should be locked- that is, they felt that way before Itachi made that kidnapping. After then, more people began to lock their doors in fear of something like that happening to their children.

Naruto set Sasuke down on his bed and started to rummage around through the house to find some medical supplies.

'Knowing Sasuke, there'll probably be no medical supplies here.' Naruto thought to himself, smirking. He was right, in fact. The only thing he found resembling something medical was some lip balm. Sakura had plenty of medical supplies at her home, on account of her being an aspiring medical ninja. She told Naruto she'd be back in a pinch and she'd be alright, though there was a hurricane expected to rip through the village soon.

(You may wonder, if there is a hurricane coming through, then why hasn't anyone evacuated? Well, the civilian villagers did evacuate, but the ninja, nurses, and immobile patients at the hospitals were forced to stay for considerably unreasonable rationale.)

Sakura soon returned with all the necessary appliances for Sasuke. She redid all of his bandages and wrapped a new one for his new stab wound, then slipped some medicine down his throat to get rid of those fever symptoms. Sakura and Naruto then agreed they should spend the night there and watch over Sasuke. At least until someone sends him back to the hospital.

"I'll take the couch and you can take the guest room." Naruto said. "If he should wake up then I can see what his problem is."

"That's okay, but we should really dry up first, ne?"

"Right."

(scene change)

"_Dear little brother… Do you know why you are here…?"_

_Sasuke didn't answer. His eyes remained glued to the floor._

"_Did you not hear me? I said do you know why you are-"_

"_I fucking heard you!" Sasuke still couldn't give him any eye contact. "You bastard, for the last time, take me home!"_

"_What a pity…" the sly, hissing voice whispered from the shadowed corner. "Don't you know what exactly brotherly love is, little Sasuke?"_

"_I want to leave."_

"_Why do you change the subject when I talk to you?" A smirk stretched across his face. "I'll teach you a lesson, dear brother."_

_Sasuke always knew what this meant. He was prepared to fight him off as usual._

_Itachi slowly crept out of the shadows. His hair was let down and not a single strand of thread made contact to his body. The dark room was illuminated only by the moon, making the skin of the brothers practically glow. Sasuke sat of the queen sized bed fully dressed, not wanting any part of whatever Itachi wanted from him. For a short while, the two just sat in utter silence, looking at each other dead in the eye. As soon as Sasuke let his gaze go to the window, Itachi made his move. He swiftly held Sasuke's arms behind his back and held him down with one hand, while removing every content of clothing with the other. After that was done he released Sasuke's arms from behind his back and forcefully turned the boy over, stomach down. With that he once more held the boy's arms to his sides. It was all so swift, so quick, that Sasuke didn't see it coming. He was staring out the window and the next thing he knows, he's being held down in his nudity. Itachi's (eh.. ahem) was already ready to make way for an entrance into Sasuke's (eh… ahem). It startled Sasuke and he was slow to fight back, but he shoved Itachi off of him and began to hit, punch, scratch, and scream. Since Itachi is bigger than Sasuke, he easily overcame, breaking the boy's screaming with a kiss. Sasuke bit deep into Itachi's tongue to break the kiss, making it bleed. This didn't stop Itachi, though. He continued to kiss him while stroking his hair, disregarding Sasuke's flailing punches. Itachi then abruptly let their lips break apart. They both had Itachi's blood in their mouths and on their faces. For about 15 seconds they panted, gazing into each others eyes. One with outrage, confusion, and fury, and the other with pure desire and evil. Itachi rubbed the blood from his face and attacked again, pushing Sasuke down as he hovered atop. Once again, he was holding Sasuke down while Sasuke screamed various things back at Itachi. Sasuke tried to kick him, but Itachi was over from Sasuke's chest on up. His legs were unable to kick that far up._

"_Dear little brother…" _

"_uhhng"_

"_You have so much to learn…"_

_Itachi bent down and bit Sasuke's lip, making him scream long enough for Itachi to stick his (err… ahem) in Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke wriggled and squirmed, coughing and trying not to succumb to whatever it was Itachi was doing. Sasuke's right arm broke free of Itachi's grip long enough to punch Itachi off of him once more. Sasuke began to fight him again. This time Itachi fought back._

"_Stop it, damn you!" Sasuke cried as Itachi was in a mix of kissing, hitting, punching, and groping. _

"_Be still, brother!" Itachi hissed semi-angrily._

_Sasuke didn't obey his brother. Instead he continued to throw punches, kicks, and bites. He rolled off of the bed with a stiff kick to Itachi's face. Itachi then rolled off on top of him and continued the mix of physical and sexual abuse._

_Itachi began to lick in various locations as addition to his kisses and punches. It was like a couple of wild animals tangled up together on that floor. Itachi being the vicious lion, attacking mercilessly, while Sasuke being a defenseless rabbit, trying to fight back but is getting eaten up in its failed attempts. Sasuke was getting beaten pretty badly, even though it seemed as if Itachi's main concern was the raping instead of the beating. Sasuke continued to squirm around helplessly while Itachi proceeded with his abuse. Itachi then started continuously beating Sasuke over the head with a small lamp that was on a little coffee table nearby. This caused Sasuke to scream louder at the sight of his own blood and the pain of the injury. _

_Itachi was finally getting fed up with the yelling, so he tore a part of the sheet off and stuffed it down Sasuke's throat to gag him. He then quickly pulled some rope that had been under his bed and tied Sasuke's wrists with it. Then he did the same with his ankles. _

_Sasuke's screaming was now muffled, but he kept on, just hoping someone would pass by this odd house and hear him. Itachi carried on with hitting Sasuke over the head. In the process, he broke Sasuke's left leg and foot, left arm, bruised his right arm, and bruised all along his waist (and unmentioned broken ribs). He beat him until he noticed Sasuke was no longer responding. He wondered if he had killed him. Either way, he was certainly not useful now. He decided to let Sasuke be a problem to his own village now. So, he wrote a small note._

"_I have borrowed Sasuke for a little while._

_Now I have given him back._

_He is no longer of use to me."_

_Itachi pulled a long nail from a draw in his dresser and attached the note to Sasuke's right hand with it. He then wrapped Sasuke up in a sheet. After Itachi got dressed, __he slowly lifted his brother and carried him out into the night._

(scene change)

Sasuke's eyes opened. He quickly sat up and looked around to see he was in the comfort of his own home. He looked at the digital clock next to his bed and saw that it was 2:15 am.

'A dream…?' Sasuke thought to himself. He was drenched in sweat from both his intense dream and his slow rising fever, regardless of medicine or not. His breathing started to get a little ragged and he began to cough erratically.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura emerged from bed and came into his room to see if he was troubled.

"I'm fine." He called back, slightly confused about hearing Sakura's voice coming from inside his house.

"Okay. Go back to sleep." Sakura called back going to her bed once again.

* * *

How'd ya like? Some of you may wonder how Sasuke's crazy one moment and sane the next. Well, if you read the summary, then you'd know that there's a small speck of reality somewhere. 

OK, I'm soooo not good on action scenes. If anyone had any kind of problem with that whole Itachi-Sasuke part, then just tell me (nicely) how to patch it up so it can be at it's fullest.

Meow.


	6. Monsters Do Exist

Control: Chapter Six: Monsters Do Exist

Only a true idiot wouldn't know that I don't own Naruto and I never will in any of my days living on this planet Earth. I won't even in my afterlife. I can only dream. Because of this, there will be an absence of disclaimers, also because they waste time and like I said before, only a true blue dolt would think that I actually have some sort of ownership towards Naruto. Happy reading!

Refreshment for your brain: Not much happened. Sakura and Naruto found Sasuke and took him to his house where he dreamt of the raping that wound him up in his current condition.

* * *

Naruto was the first to rise and greet the day. The first thing he did (even before brushing his teeth and taking his shower) was check on his snoozing teammates. He took Sasuke's temperature which was 103.3 (it dropped some. Before it was 105.0). After which he brushed his teeth, took a shower, blow-dried, and brushed his hair. When he was done with that, he noticed Sasuke was up trying to get to the kitchen. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Naruto asked in an almost fatherly voice.

"To the kitchen." Sasuke replied in a sass kind of tone.

"Lie down. I'll get you whatever it is you need."

Oddly enough, Sasuke obeyed Naruto. He was just too tired to argue. He set his crutches against the sofa and relaxed there. While Naruto made his way to the kitchen.

"What is it that you want anyway?" Naruto said from the kitchen.

"I was gonna get some orange juice."

Naruto proceeded to get the orange juice for his teammate. In the meanwhile, Sakura rose from her sleep. She almost immediately checked Sasuke's room to see if he was alright. When he went unseen this momentarily frightened her. She then saw he was fine on the sofa. She calmed and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and such.

Naruto came out of the kitchen with a full glass of orange juice and a bottle of pills in his hand. He held both objects in front of Sasuke and gestured him to take them. Sasuke took the glass of juice first and gingerly took the bottle of pills from Naruto.

"Tsunade-baachan gave them to me to give to you last night. She said you should take two a day."

"With orange juice…?" Sasuke was used to taking his pills with water.

"Does it really matter? As long as you get the pills to go down there with something you should be alright."

"Good morning you two." Sakura yawned. "Have you had any breakfast yet?"

"Nope."

"…"

"Good. Then I'll make some for you two. What would you like?" Sakura put on an apron that was hanging next to the kitchen door and searched around for things to make in the fridge.

"You know what I like!" Naruto beamed. "I want ramen!"

"For breakfast? You really are a first class moron aren't you, dobe?"

"What was that, Sasuke-teme?"

"Hn."

Even though it annoyed her regularly, Sakura was happy to see Sasuke and Naruto to behave in such a way. Like in the old days. They had been so distant, Sakura couldn't even recognize her teammates or even herself sometimes. It seemed so real, so genuine to her, yet something still seemed so cold and distant. Almost surreal.

"I'll make the ramen for you, okay?"

"Okay, Sakura-chan."

"Suit yourself."

Naruto definitely seemed to lighten up a little. He thought that maybe they all could grow closer together- or at least be the way they were at the beginning again.

After Sakura made her way back to the kitchen, Naruto's smile faded a little as he looked in Sasuke's direction. He knew that getting on the road to recovery for his team meant getting Sasuke's physical and mental health to the way it was before. He hadn't been the same since we was retrieved from Orochimaru. Sometimes this made Naruto wonder what exactly happened while Sasuke was there. Naruto also knew that everything fell apart from the second Orochimaru sunk his teeth into Sasuke's neck. He didn't find out about that happening until months later, but he still figured it was the cursed seal that broke Sasuke away first. Now Itachi was trying to pull loose the thread that held Sasuke with Konoha. Naruto's mind still wondered about those various things until his thought was broken with the ring of the telephone.

Sakura made her way from the kitchen to answer the phone, even though the phone was easily in Sasuke's reach. She was a little used to doing things for everyone (men) because that's what she was taught at home.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Tsunade-sama! Are you looking for Sasuke-kun?"

This immediately got Sasuke's attention.

"Oh, really…? Well, um… Sasuke's injured. He can't come…" Sakura constantly looked back and forth at Sasuke and the floor in front of her as she spoke. "Okay. We'll be there as soon as possible. Bye." She hung up and looked back and forth at Naruto and Sasuke, who were both looking at her in return.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Sasuke stated in a sort of impatient voice.

"Tsunade-sama wants us to put up some walls around the village to reduce the damage that hurricane's expected to cause. You're in no condition to go, Sasuke-kun, so Naruto and I will go. You'll be alright by yourself, ne?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

With that, Naruto and Sakura headed out the door leaving Sasuke alone.

(an hour later)

Sasuke was in the same spot as before. He could feel his temperature rising as he was stretched out there. Something about being alone- and being able to reflect on himself and his hell of a life is what always drives him off edge. Every time he thought of Itachi and what he did to him, he always got a dizzy sensation in his head and his blood would begin to boil. Little did Naruto know, his mind was definitely on the right track when he thought Orochimaru had something to do with Sasuke's behavior. Every day- until the sun set up again at dawn- Orochimaru mentally and sexually taunted Sasuke. The only reason Sasuke didn't leave was because he wanted the power Orochimaru promised. It never came, so it was like Sasuke sold his soul- and virginity- for nothing in return.

Sasuke could feel tears go down his cheeks. His head began to pound as he thought of all his experiences in life- each a new saga that caused more pain and suffering for him. He often thought of suicide. He frequently tried to hurt himself in several ways- sometimes he did it because he hated himself that much, other times he did it just to see if he was really living, or if he was already in hell.

Like what happened at the hospital, he often saw images of his mother or father. Sometimes of his aunt and uncle, or even he and his brother together like when he was little. He was well aware of the fact that he was getting crazier every day. He knew one day he would snap and just fall into the dark pits of death. "If it happens, so it happened" was his thoughts of it in the beginning, but later in time, we has getting afraid of what would happen to him if he died. He often talked of death being happiness and hell being the truest of paradises. But more and more, he's been afraid of what may happen to him if he did arrive in hell. He wished more than anything to be able to die and fly to the mighty gates of heaven to be once again united with his mother, father, and the rest of his clan, where they could watch Itachi burn and suffer worlds below.

He knew that wouldn't happen. He, too was going to hell- he knew it. He too was going to live out the rest of time in profound damnation. He too was going to be boiling in all of his negative emotions for the rest of eternity with Itachi, and Orochimaru too.

He knew he was going there while Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and everyone else shook their heads at him up in those heavenly skies.

If that was to happen, he would pin it on Itachi overall. Itachi deceived him and started the hellish rollercoaster he rode on everyday. Everyday seemed like a nightmare that Sasuke just wanted to wake up from, but his eyes would never open. No one was there to shake him genteelly and tell him that it was alright. What he needed wasn't counseling like what Kakashi once said. He need friends by his side, or more likely an angel to guide him through the rest of his life. His problem was that no one would become that angel.

He had to admit though, even though he didn't have his angel, he did have friends. Two very close ones at that. They hadn't known each other for more than two years, but they had already become like siblings to Sasuke. Who you may ask? Well that can be easily answered as Naruto and Sakura. In fact, they both could almost be identified as his angels. Without them, he probably would have died a long time ago. Thinking of this automatically made Sasuke think of how Itachi was like his guardian angel until that day…

(small flashback)

_The wind howled and the lightning illuminated the tree by four year old Sasuke's window as if it was a monster's claw trying to break in and eat little Sasuke away. Sasuke saw the tree as the monster, the howling wind as the cries of his ghostly henchmen, and the angry thunder as the monster's ferocious shrieks. Sasuke had a vivid imagination. In addition to that, his mother had just let him watch one of those late night horror flicks with his aniki. Typically he was frightened and was getting the impression that everything he saw that night was in some way related to the movie he saw. In the movie, there was a big monster that could summon ghosts as its henchmen. It wanted to kidnap little children (like Sasuke) to use as its new henchmen to conquer all of the world (So it was a crappy plot? Can you really blame the people of the 1920's movie industry?). Near the end of the movie, it was a stormy night, just like the one that Sasuke was enduring then. The monster was just coming to a small boy's house. When he got close enough, the boy's night light turned out and the movie then ended in a cliffhanger. Sasuke was scared to death that that was going to happen to him, but he didn't want to admit it to his mother or more importantly his aniki. The only reason his mother let him see the movie in the first place was because he promised that he could handle it. If he showed fear, then his mother would treat him like a little kid again and aniki would never leave him alone about it for the rest of his days. There was no way Sasuke would ever admit his fear. He swore upon his Mother Goose book for that. _

_Sasuke tried to shrug it off and go to sleep. It was a big day the next day because his father promised him that he would buy him one of those "Build it Yourself Swing Set" kits. Sasuke was a good boy during his grandparents visit, so his father felt it was necessary to give him a little present for that. Sasuke closed his eyes shut. He felt a little safer with his Barney the Dinosaur, Care Bears, GI Joe, and Sesame Street nightlights shining plenty bright on each corner of his room. Sasuke knew (thought) that each one of his nightlights would protect him if that mean old monster came about. He curled underneath his blanket with a flashlight in one hand and an action figure with "25 laser powers" in another. He had an army helmet on just in case of some serious combat. His mother told him to always wear his helmet when taking part in such things. Underneath his pillow, he put his play walkie-talkie for "talking to fellow officers in case the monster were to show up". He closed his eyes tighter and stayed that way for at least ten more minutes. The sound of his kitty clock ticking and tocking and meowing mostly put him to sleep. Then, out of the blue, this massive boom of thunder and strike of lighting came through, waking little Sasuke and taking out the power (including all four nightlights) all across his house. He didn't stop to think twice. He leapt out of bed and flung the door wide open, screaming through the halls of the big Uchiha house._

"_AAAAAH! ANINKI! THE MONSTERS ARE HERE TO KIDNAP ME AND DISSECT MY BRAINS SO HE CAN SELL IT TO HIS MONSTER FRIENDS ON EBAY AND USE MY SOUL AS HIS GHOST BENCHMAN (henchman) AND THEN EAT THE REST OF ME WITH HIS WIFE AND KIDS!"_

_With that, Sasuke shot through the door to Itachi's room and leapt into his bed and snuggled him real tight. Itachi was already awake because of the loud thunder and because of Sasuke abrupt scream._

"_What is it?" Itachi sounded uninterested and tired._

"_The monster from the m-movie…" Sasuke started really shaky. "He came to my room to KIDNAP ME AND DISSE-"_

"_Hush. You'll wake mother and father. Then you won't get your swing set."_

_Sasuke thought of this and decided to be quieter. _

"_But I don't wanna be a benchman…!" Sasuke whined like a sick puppy._

"_Henchman." Itachi corrected him. "Now go back to your room."_

"_No, I don't wanna!" _

"_Go."_

"_No!"_

"_I said go!"_

"_Protect me, aniki." Tears started to form in Sasuke's big puppy dog eyes. "You don't love me anymore!" He began to cry._

"_N- No…! I didn't say-…" Itachi could have slapped himself. What was he to do? He made his brother cry. He didn't want his parents to come in and see this- it would get put on him. Plus, he didn't want to see little Sasuke this way (or so we thought). "Shh… You'll wake our parents. Don't cry. There's no such thing as monsters."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

"_Really, really?"_

_He sighed. "Really, really."_

"_Would you swear on the Mother Goo-"_

"_Yes, already!" Itachi quickly changed back to a soothing voice. Sasuke was the sensitive type then. "Just go to sleep and it'll be over by morning. I promise."_

_Sasuke squealed in delight of such glorious news. He closed his eyes tight and buried his face into Itachi's side. Before falling asleep, he remembered one more thing._

"_Aniki, don't tell Okaa-san that I got scared… please?"_

"_I won't."_

(end flashback)

Thinking of such tender, peaceful times only made Sasuke's blood boil more, and his head pound harder. He remembered what Itachi said to him that day. "_There's no such thing as monsters_".

'Yes there is…' he thought. 'You were the monster the whole time.'

To get rid of the stress from his thoughts, he turned on his TV only to see the weather station on.

"_This hurricane's moving fast at nearly a 500 mph speed. It's expected to make landfall later on this evening. Don't turn that dial. We'll be right back with more details."_

* * *

I got a little carried away with the whole flashback scene… heh. So how'd ya like? 

Be a hero to the kittens- REVIEW!

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